Elder Coyote Passes On
It's with a heavy heart that we share the news with you that Tom Brown. Jr. passed away at the age of 74, on the morning of Friday, August 16, 2024. Tom was the founder of the Tracker School, world world-renowned for teaching Wilderness Survival, Nature Observation, Tracking, Awareness, and the Philosophy of living with the Earth. Tom was mentored from the ages of 8 to 18 by Stalking Wolf, an elder Lipan Apache scout and shaman who was the grandfather of his best friend Rick.
Tom Brown Jr. was a deeply formative mentor for Twin Eagles' founders Tim & Jeannine when they first got started on the path of Deep Nature Connection Mentorng in the late 90's. Here is a note that Tim wrote up in honor of Tom:
Elder Coyote Passes On
Standing at the Ash tree at the Tracker School Farm in New Jersey in the year 2000, I found myself engrossed in examining compound leaves, furrowed bark, and opposite branches, trying to decipher whether this tree was a White Ash or a Green Ash. Not an easy distinction. Suddenly, I see the old man headed my way. "Now is my chance!" I think to myself. "Now is my chance to thank Tom for everything he has taught me, everything he has done to live his Vision, everything he has done for so significantly changing the world, my world, for the better!"
As he approaches, my heart rate increases, and with it comes the unmistakable cocktail comprised of one part anxiety and one part recognition of the sacredness of this moment. With both awkwardness and a big heart, I speak up. "Tom, I just want to say thank you for everything you've done, and for teaching me so much. It's hard for me to describe what a huge impact you've had on me."
"Don't thank me, thank Grandfather", Tom quipped back. He was referring to his teacher, Stalking Wolf, an elderly Apache scout and shaman.
"What the hell do you mean, 'Don't thank me'!", I thought. His response was unsatisfying and left me feeling empty. While my words were few, I had just poured out my heart to this mentor of mine, and it felt to me that my sentiment was largely unreceived. Couldn't Tom feel how important he was to me, and what a huge impact he had on my life?
It would take me some time, years if I'm honest, to truly understand the gift he gave me in that moment. After all, Tom was a master Coyote Teacher, and all was not as it seemed at first glance.
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On Friday morning August 16, 2024, Tom Brown Jr. passed away at the age of 74. Tom was the founder of the Tracker School, world world-renowned for teaching Wilderness Survival, Nature Observation, Tracking, Awareness, and the Philosophy of living with the Earth. Tom was mentored from the ages of 8 to 18 by Stalking Wolf, an elder Lipan Apache scout and shaman who was the grandfather of his best friend Rick.
If you've been impacted by any of the deep nature connection mentoring at Twin Eagles Wilderness School or the earth-based visionary development at Purpose Mountain, then Tom is owed a debt of gratitude.
Tom Brown Jr. was my very first mentor who showed me the ways of connecting with the Earth and Spirit. In the late 90's an old college friend sent me his books when I was in my early 20's. Soon thereafter, my wife Jeannine and I moved across the country from New Mexico to New Jersey to learn from him at the Tracker School. Tom was hugely influential on my development in the realms of nature connection, coyote mentoring, tracking, wilderness skills, survival, awareness, and connection to Vision. As I said to him then, I'll say again now, it is hard for me to put into words the significance of his impact on my life. There is not a day that goes by that I don't practice the skills of awareness he taught me. Tom fundamentally altered my perception of the world in the best possible way and helped set me on the path of my life's purpose. Before that first week's class at the Tracker School was over, I remember knowing in my heart that this would be my life's work. When I did my first Vision Quest, Tom was there. I will never forget the gaze in his eyes as his stare pierced my very Soul, calling me forward into my gifts and responsibility to all of life. For that, Tom, I am forever grateful.
Tom was an enigma, a mystery, and I believe largely misunderstood by most. Such is the way of being a Coyote Teacher. He was wild, fully alive, and always exuding intensity and passion. We used to fondly describe him as a mix between a drill sergeant and a Native elder. He pushed people's buttons… big time! Oh, the stories I could tell! Some people would get really upset about his approaches to mentoring. Tom was wild. He just refused to live in the box set by modern society, and people just didn't know how to deal with that sometimes. So they would sling arrows at him. Lots of arrows. The scars on that man's back were many, to be sure. But no one could argue that Tom positively inspired over 100,000 people to love the Earth. Undoubtedly, his out-of-the-box coyote mentoring approach was responsible for such a tremendous impact.
I am now 50 years old, the age Tom was when I first met him. I reflect on the huge network of Wilderness Schools and organizations focused on Deep Nature Connection Mentoring, Primitive Skills, Vision Quest, Bushcraft, and Wildlife Tracking, that Tom has influenced so significantly. Over the past 25 years, I've done my best to keep these teachings alive and pass them on, and it has been an honor to see the network grow. Sure, we've had our growing pains, but the fact of the matter is that not so long ago these skills and this way of life were at a bottleneck point, at risk of being lost forever. Thanks to Tom's work, life, and Vision, as well as the work and Vision of many others, we have gotten through the narrows of the bottleneck, and these teachings can now live on and flourish.
While many have contributed towards this path of growth and renewal, Tom had a very special role. In particular, I think of his many books that he authored - 18 in total. Writing books was Tom's way of reaching out to what he called "The Mindless Masses" and offering a bridge from the rush and din of modern society into the awe and rapture of the sanctuary of the wilderness. It takes a lot of work to write, but it takes even more work to write in a way that crafts a path like this to genuinely inspire others to take action toward connecting to the Earth and their own sacred life vision. From my perspective, this is one of the greatest gifts Tom gave us, offering this pathway of awakening for so many. I hold him as a very significant role model in this way as I often ask myself, "How can I provide a bridge today for someone NEW to discover this way of life?" I mean, let's face it, it's easy to mentor people who are already inspired on the path. But the real question is, how do we effectively inspire newcomers to this journey? That is the work.
Tom's youngest son River sent out a beautiful and heartfelt video where he shared about his dad's passing, and how even in Tom's final moments he was fully engaged in tracking and the great dance of life. One last teaching from the master.
River also shared a sentiment that I remember Tom sharing over two decades ago. Tom used to say, "It's not about me, the teacher, or even you, the student. It's about the people you will teach."
Now there is some good Coyote Teaching right there. Take the focus off of the current generations, those people readily visible in our awareness. Place the focus on those who will come, inspiring the spirit of mentoring to pass on to future generations.
If we can remember that the beauty of life has been tended for untold generations, long before we've been here, and that those ancestors deserve our love and gratitude, maybe this can inspire us to embrace seven-generation thinking, doing everything we can to ensure that the Earth and the Sacred will be cared for long into the future.
This is the gift that Tom gave me by that Ash tree all those years ago. Thank you, old coyote.
Shuna.
All Good Medicine,
Twin Eagles Wilderness School
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